Maps of the battles

These four basic maps are from Bean's Official History (Vol. IV) and are just a quick and handy reference for anyone reading about the four battles featured on this blog. Soon we hope to also feature some really great-looking original 1917 AIF maps, some of which will appear in the exhibition.

Another great source of detailed maps and aerial photos are the war diaries of the various units. These original historical documents may appear as hand-drawn sketch maps or printed maps or photos with numerous hand-written annotations. They may be found scattered throughout a war diary, but in most cases they tend to be appendices toward the end of each monthly diary. The good news is that now we are digitising this material and putting it online (for free), it's easier than ever to find these fascinating maps and photos and zoom right in on them. At present the corps and divisional war diaries are ready for viewing online, but now (July 2007) the first three infantry brigade diaries have also been done, with the others to follow, then the infantry battalions. Check what's available online at www.awm.gov.au/diaries/ww1/index.asp